Out of Town
by GreenNinja
Summary: 20 years have passed, and Madison is feeling angry that Nick left her. So she extracts her revenge.


**Out of Town**

20 years had passed in Briarwood. 20 years since the day they defeated The Master and brought peace to the town at last. Things had changed since then, in ways that no one ever could've guessed. Xander had become the new owner of the Rock Porium when Toby and Nikki retired and moved to Florida. Leelee and Phineas had gotten married, and were now raising a troll-goblin-vampire-human named Kelson, who was considered absolutely normal by the citizens of Briarwood. The Mystic Forest had been almost entirely cut down, save for Rootcore, and turned into a series of treehouse dwellings for the people to live in. Daggeron and Itassis were rebuilding the Pit with the help from some converted Hidiacs, Matoombo, and Vida. Vida herself had become a top DJ, and Chip was teaching archery to the young ones, magical and non-magical alike. Madison, however…

"Madison, you okay?" Clare asked as she approached the younger Rocca sister, who was visiting her in Rootcore that day. Clare had since taken on Leelee as an apprentice, and the vampire half-breed was learning quite well. "He's not coming back." Madison pushed her long, black hair out of her face and looked to Clare. Tears were in her eyes.

"But he promised he would!" Madison sobbed. She was wearing an all-black outfit and black eyeliner, but when she stood up and removed her shirt, underneath it was a hastily-sewed together T-shirt made out of Nick's baby blanket. "This is all I have left of him…and I wear it everyday." Clare stepped back, twitching her eyebrow in nervous fear.

"Madison, calm down," Clare replied, holding her hands forward as she prepared to conjure a magical shield, "Don't do anything rash…" Madison reached for the framed picture of Nick she'd been looking at and dropped it to the ground. The glass shattered in all directions, leaving the picture within exposed. Madison ripped off her red T-shirt, magicking up a blue one to cover herself. She wrapped the picture in the blanket and bundled it in her arms. She placed her fingers to her mouth and whistled.

Fire Heart, who had been slumbering in the back room of Rootcore, walked forward a couple paces and saw the picture of Nick. Thoughts ran through his draconian mind. "The Red Wizard," he thought, "I remember the days when we fought alongside each other. Where have you been since then?" Fire Heart took in a deep breath, beat his wings and felt a breath of flame rise within him. The stream of fire shot forward and burned the blanket, quickly making its way to the picture until only ash remained.

Madison pulled out her Mystic Morpher and turned on the computer screens (Clare still hadn't learned how to work those), showing a Rootcore surveillance video of the last time she ever saw Nick. The dramatic music played as he rode off into the sunset. That was the start of it all. In those 20 years Madison had several drunken nights, a fling with a fire sprite ("Not nearly as hot", she'd stated to Vida), and written more long, drawn out, love-hate poems than anyone could've dreamed imaginable. Vida had seriously recommended her for therapy.

Madison converted the footage stored in Rootcore's systems into a videotape. She next went to the weapons cabinet and pulled out Nick's Dragon Fire Morpher, which, for reasons unexplained, was shaped like Daggeron's Solar Cell. She tossed the videotape and the Dragon Fire Morpher onto the pile, a burning flame rising high into the halls.

"MADISON!" Clare screamed.

Madison flicked her fingers, creating a stream of water that put out the flames. All there was in the hallway was a circle of burned wood. Fire Heart walked back to his chamber and continued sleeping. Madison held her Morpher to her head and called for a stream of blue magic that transformed her all-black clothes into something she would normally wear. She smiled and walked home.

"Uh…okay," Clare said, "At least you got your anger out."

Thousands of miles away, in a seedy little bar along the road, three motorcycles had stopped for the night. Leanbow, his hair so gray it was white, and Udonna, now even more wrinkly and gray than before, were having a few drinks and thinking about where to go next on their journey. "Where's Nick?" asked Leanbow, "He's been tuning up his bike for the past hour. We'll never make it to New Tech City at this rate! And Nick's the only one who understands all of that newfangled technology they have there!"

"Hello, sailor," Udonna slurred to the bartender, "Looking for someone for tonight?"  
"Honey, come on," Leanbow grabbed her by the arm, "Let's find our son and hit the road!" Udonna lagged behind him as they walked out. Nick was lying on the side of the road with his jacket burnt off and his hair gone.

"Son, what happened?" Leanbow asked.

"I don't know," Nick cringed, "I was fixing up the bike and suddenly I caught on fire. I haven't felt something like this since I fought with…Fire Heart."

"Who could do this?" asked Leanbow, "Is there anybody who might have a grudge against you?"

"There was her…" Nick tried to remember, "…I think her name was…Madison."

"Madison, I remember her!" Udonna slurred, "She's the one you left behind with your blanket and told you were coming back, right?"

"I think that explains it," Leanbow said, "We'll have to treat these burns."

"NOOO!" Nick screamed. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"

He knew. So did Madison.

The moral of the story: Never leave a girl heartbroken. Especially if that girl can magically set you on fire.


End file.
